raising the debt ceiling does not authorize us to spend more. all it does is say that america will pay its bills. and we are not a deadbeat nation. and the consequences of us not paying our bills, as i outlined in my opening statement, would be disastrous. so i understand the impulse to try to get around this in a simple way. but there's one way to get around this. there's one way to deal with it, and that is for congress to authorize me to pay for those items of spending that they have already authorized. and, you know, the notion that republicans in the house or maybe some republicans in the senate would suggest that in order for us to get our way on our spending priorityies, that e would risk the full faith and credit of the united states, that, i think, is not what the founders intended. that's not how, i think, most americans think our democracy should work. they've got a point of view. democrats in congress have a point of view. they need to sit down and work out a compromise. [ inaudible ] yeah. >> and you're not negotiating on the debt c